


Welcome to the Bleck Parade

by Pandorka



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: Disturbed, F/M, Human AU, Marina and the Diamonds, Mayday Parade, band au, starset, the soundtrack to every teen in the early 2000's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandorka/pseuds/Pandorka
Summary: Many years ago Blumiere lost the love of his life, in hopes of finding her again he decided to try and make it big in the music world. Along the way he formed the well beloved band known as the Chaos Hearts, but he still was unable to find her no matter how much fame they gathered.And then, one year they signed up for the Battle of the Bands, a country wide music competition where the winners would play at the most famous stage for the entire world.AKA the band AU that no one asked for.
Relationships: Count Bleck | Blumiere/Lady Timpani | Tippi, Count Bleck/Nastasia (one-sided), Mimi/Luvbi, O'Chunks/Nastasia
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	1. The Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Some things to note before you start this fanfic.  
> I am rather familiar with music, to an extent. Around (eleven?) years of playing the violin would do that, but that said I’m not familiar with anything outside of what you learn from the violin. I’m going to do research, obviously, but I apologize if I get anything wrong.  
> As for another thing, I’m not a songwriter, so I will just be using preexisting songs. Any songs that are used in this fic will be credited at the end of the chapter in the notes with a link to Youtube for anyone that wants to know what they sound like. (I probably will also add a chapter at the end when this fic is finished of a list of all the songs.) That being said, I will not be including the entire song and instead will have snippets of the lyrics.  
> Please enjoy, and thank you for giving this fanfic a chance!

_I thought our love would be so beautiful_

_Somehow we’d make the whole world bright_

_I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong_

_All they’d leave us were these whispers in the night_

_But still my heart is saying we were right_

  
  


There is a place known as New Donk City, where people from all walks of life flock to in hopes of making their dreams come true. Some dreamed of Broadway, others of becoming world famous chefs, while others had dreams of playing music for the world. Everywhere you could turn there was someone with bright eyes and a heart full of hopes and dreams.

Blumiere Bleck, was not one of those people. 

A man in his late twenties, Blumiere was what many would call a washed up musician. He lived in a small, one bedroom apartment where he was barely able to make the rent with the money he gained from tips and small gigs. His amber eyes were underlined with deep dark bags that did not look as though they would ever go away, though they were slightly hidden away by a pair of glasses that were only held together by some tape. His skin was pale despite his time spent bussing on the streets, and the clothes he wore were white and stained. The only part of Blumiere’s appearance that he ever put any care in was his hair that grew shaggily to his shoulder blades. A faded blue color, with black roots proving that the man had dyed his hair long ago. The only notable thing he had to his name was his guitar, a deep black color accented by a dark purple heart. A gift from someone he had known long ago. 

He had come to New Donk City many years prior, a guitar in hand and plans to gain enough fame to get his music out into the world. But his eyes held a heavy sadness, his heart was cold and broken. Yes, Blumiere had dreams of his own, but those dreams had nothing to do with fame and fortune. He didn’t care how many people his music reached, he only wanted his music to reach one person.

_Her._

The thought of seeing _her_ again was the one thing that kept Blumiere going, despite the odds. Despite the poverty. As long as he held onto the hope that the two of them would see each other again he knew he could survive anything.

Which lead to today, he had managed to convince the manager of a nearby Starbeans to allow him to play for the patrons. While it definitely wasn’t the easiest way to get attention, it was all he really had besides playing on the streets. At least he knew that the shop was already going to pay him, not to mention any tips he could gain from those that weren’t so busy that they couldn’t spare a few minutes to listen to some music. 

Upon entering the shop Blumiere noticed that it was pretty busy, but that was to be expected for a Starbeans in a city such as New Donk. Most of them were the normal patrons you would see in a Starbeans, writers working on their latest novels, artists sketching, and office workers lumbering around trying to get their daily cup of coffee so they could make it through the day. However, there was one person in the shop that caught Blumiere’s eyes. A woman, with hot pink hair tied up in a bun that was staring at the current musician that was playing. A frown was on her face, and she noticeably winced whenever the performer played the wrong note. (Which was often.) 

Blumiere tore his attention away from the woman, and walked over to one of the baristas that had just finished handing off a coffee to one of their patrons. 

“Excuse me,” Blumiere said, catching the boy’s attention. “I am Blumiere Bleck, I was scheduled to perform at four.”

“Yeah, yeah, Elvin told us to expect you.” The boy said, his voice drawling in a way that showed he really didn’t care at all about Blumiere. “Just get your stuff ready for when the last guy finishes.” 

“Thank you.” Blumiere nodded, even though he knew that the worker really didn’t care as he turned to receive a finished coffee. He began to head over to the area where the musicians played just as the current act finished up and was beginning to pack. Blumiere took off the guitar case he had on his back, setting it down on the floor as he unzipped the case revealing his black guitar. A soft smile pulled on his lips as he ran his fingers across the wood. Briefly caught in the memories of the one who gave him the guitar, before he shook himself out of it. His usual sadness settling over him as he took it out. The old act had left by that moment, so Blumiere settled himself onto the stool that had previously been occupied and he began to tune his instrument. He had tuned it before he had gotten there, but there was no harm in checking just in case. 

Once he was done checking his instrument, Blumiere cleared his throat to address the crowd. “My name is Blumiere Bleck,” he informed anyone that was bothering to pay attention, “The first song I will be playing is The Memory by Mayday Parade.” Once his introduction was out of the way, Blumiere ducked his head, staring down at the strings of his guitar. He played out the first few notes of the song, before he started to sing-

_She_

_Is everywhere I go_

_Everyone I see_

_Winter’s gone and I still can’t sleep_

_Summer’s on the way_

_At least that’s what they say_

_But these clouds won’t leave_

_Walk away_

_Barely breathing_

_As I’m lying on the floor_

_Take my heart_

_As you’re leaving_

_I don’t need it anymore_

Blumiere allowed himself to be lost in the song, forgetting that he was in a coffee shop as his mind conjured up the image of _her._ Of her black curls that could barely be held back from her face by a rainbow ribbon, her dark, near black eyes that held so much love in them whenever they made eye contact. Her bright smile that lit up even the darkest of rooms. 

They had been young, and so in love. So much so it seemed as if nothing could take them down from the clouds they danced upon together. That was, until Blumiere’s father had found out about the relationship. Upon finding out about it, he had screamed at his son for wasting his time with “no good musician trash.” Before he tossed Blumiere on a bus to an all-boy’s boarding school where he had no contact with anyone outside of the school.

When Blumiere returned, he had raced out of the house in the middle of the night and went to _her_ house. Only to learn that _she_ and her family had moved away long ago. And no matter how hard he searched, he was never able to find _her_ again. 

_Someone help me_

_‘Cause the memory_

_Convinced itself to tear me apart_

_And it’s gonna succeed before long_

_She_

_Is everywhere I go_

_Everyone I see_

_But these clouds won’t leave_

As the last notes faded away, Blumiere opened his eyes. Unaware that he had closed them in the first place. He could feel the tears his memories had conjured up, but didn’t care enough to wipe them away. Looking around, he found that almost everyone in the coffee shop hadn’t been paying attention to his performance. In fact, it seemed as if the only ones that were was that pink haired woman and her companion. 

The day continued, with Blumiere performing all of the songs he had on his list for that day. Each one being about lost love, and eventually the end of his gig came to another disappointing end. 

With a sigh, Blumiere hopped off of the stool, and packed his guitar away. Once it was secure upon his back he turned to leave the coffee shop when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned around, hope filling up his chest before being crushed when his brown eyes met a pair of red. (Strange, he suspected colored contacts.) Instead of it being _her_ the person that had come up to him was the pink haired woman he had noticed earlier. Closer, he could see that she was quite the beautiful woman, though she had a no-nonsense sort of air surrounding her. Though that was most likely in part to the white colored shirt, black slacks, and black heels that made her look like some sort of office worker. She pushed up her red librarian glasses up on her nose, before sticking out a hand towards him.

“Blumiere Bleck, correct?”

Blumiere nodded, and took her hand as he waited for her to continue. 

“My name is Nastasia Dracul,” she introduced herself, letting go of his hand, “I’m a music manager in the need of new talent, and I vound myself pleasantly surprised by your performance. You know vhat that means, yes?”

“You’re offering to manage me?” Blumiere guessed.

Nastasia nodded, before reaching into the purse at her side. She pulled out a small card and handed it to him. “If you vant to take your career to the next level call the number on the card at 2pm tomorrow, k?” Without waiting for a reply, the woman began to walk over to the door, taking a pause near it to look over her shoulder towards the table she had been seated at. “Antasma, ve’re leaving!” She called to her companion, before she looked towards Blumiere once more. “I hope to be hearing from you.” She told her, before she and her companion left the coffee shop, with the only proof they had been there was the soft tinkling of the bell that hung over the door.   
  


* * *

Blumiere frowned down at his phone, laying on his beat up mattress on the floor of his cheap, one bedroom apartment. Despite how small, and honestly awful the apartment was, the rent was still too high for him to afford a bed frame so the mattress sat on the floor instead. He glanced over towards the card he held in one hand, before looking back at the phone.

Admittedly, he had tried having managers before. But he never kept them long, as they had never really been able to click. He highly doubted this… Nastasia woman would be any different. But he supposed any sort of publicity that she could gain him could eventually lead up to him finding _her._

With a sigh, Blumiere flicked the card onto the floor, turning to his side to stare at the framed photo sitting on his bedside table. (Which was just a cardboard box.) In the picture were two young teenagers, one of them being a younger Blumiere with his hair still black, and actual hope and happiness still shining in his eyes. And next to him, a girl. He reached for the picture frame, and picked it up, running his thumb across the glass where the image of the girl was located. He smiled softly, before the smile fell and he put the picture frame back.

He took another look at his phone, reading the time as 1:58pm. And making his decision, Blumiere grabbed the card he had previously discarded and punched in the woman’s number. Holding the phone to his ear, Blumiere moved onto his back, listening to the phone ring before there was a click. 

“This is Nastasia Dracul.”

“Hello, uh, Nastasia, this is Blumiere. We met at Starbeans yesterday-” 

* * *

[If I Never Knew You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALY-NdKexs0)

[The Memory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMCBemLPV9s)

[Fanfic Soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF9oc0zgvNHTTjPnkBONg9e4IOLZ4uX1J)


	2. Last to Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nastasia is a music manager looking for new talent, but no matter where she goes she can't find anyone that fits her criteria.  
> That is, until one day she goes to a Starbeans Cafe.

_And the world is cold_

_But it's beautiful_

_I wish you were here now_

_I miss your soul_

_But you lost your light_

_When the darkness called_

_But I stand here waiting_

_The last to fall_

Starbeans wasn’t Nastasia’s first choice in where to go for coffee. Actually, scratch that, Starbeans was never a choice. Their coffee was always too sweet for her tastes, with the shop somehow even making her order of a plain black coffee far too sweet. Not only that, but there was something about the cafe’s manager, a man by the name of Elvin Gadd that she just didn’t like. She suspected it was the eyes, for some reason they seemed way too small for a normal human being. 

So that left the question, why exactly was Nastasia in that cafe in the first place?

Oh right, because she had just fired the last band she had been managing, and Starbeans always had musicians looking for their big break playing for the customers. Admittedly, Nastasia knew that she was quite infamous amongst the budding talent in New Donk City for being far too strict. But she didn’t really see it that way. All she asked was that her clients show up to their gigs on time, practice at least five hours a day and stay perfectly sober! That shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish, and yet so many times have her clients disappointed her. 

With a sigh, Nastasia glared at her coffee, taking a sip as she tried to hide her disgust with both the coffee and the fool that was playing some sort of ear grating pop song everyone and their mother had heard by this point.

Lost in her thoughts, Nastasia was jolted from them by a foot lightly kicking at her shin. Putting her disgusting coffee down, Nastasia gave her brother a pointed glare that would make most wither. (But he had known her all his life, so it didn’t really work that well.)

“You are sulking,” Antasma informed her, accent heavy as he took a sip from his pumpkin spice latte. (How could he stand something like that, Nastasia could never understand.)

“You would be too if your career depended on people being able to hold a tune.” Nastasia informed him, before wincing when the musician played a poorly placed F#. Sometimes having perfect pitch really didn’t help when it came to this sort of career path. 

Antasma hummed, smirking slightly at his sister before the two siblings turned their attention back towards the musician just as he apparently finished his set to Nastasia’s relief. Most of the patrons clapped for him, though Nastasia certainly didn’t.

A new musician came up to the stage after him, this one carrying what looked like a very old acoustic guitar. Nastasia felt herself sitting up in her seat, noticing the rather sad look pulling on his feature. Sadness was always a good sign when looking for talent. His hair had been dyed blue, but it was clearly a while ago as the blue was faded with his hair growing out to show his black roots. (Nastasia herself liked to dye her hair hot pink, but always made sure to keep an eye on her roots before they could show. She had to look as professional as she could after all.) 

Nastasia sat at attention the moment he began to sing, her grip tightening around her cup as she listened. This man… While his strumming left for something to desire, his voice… It sent chills down her spine, especially considering the emotion that he was putting into those lyrics. Even though they weren’t his words, the way he was singing made her feel like he really felt them. Believed in them. He was so… Genuine, something that was so hard to come by now-a-days. 

“I take it you vound your new talent?” Antasma smirked behind his cup, and all Nastasia could do was nod. Grabbing at a napkin, and pulling a pen from her purse as she scribbled down the name she remembered the man saying as well as the ideal time in her schedule for a phone call. The man continued with his singing and playing, continuing to impress Nastasia with his talent. But even talent like his couldn’t last, as he eventually finished. With Nastasia actually joining in with the crowd’s clapping before she stood from her seat. Taking a few seconds to stretch out her limbs before she made her way over towards the man. Her heels clicking against the cafe’s wood flooring.

“Blumiere Bleck, correct?” She questioned, sticking out her hand for him to shake. To answer all he did was nod, which did cause Nastasia a bit of worry but she couldn’t really afford to be _that_ picky at the moment. Though she was pleased when he shook her hand.

“My name is Nastasia Dracul,” she introduced herself, letting go of his hand, “I’m a music manager in the need of new talent, and I vound myself pleasantly surprised by your performance. You know vhat that means, yes?”

“You’re offering to manage me?” The man, Blumiere guessed.

Nastasia nodded, before she turned her attention to the purse she had slung over her shoulder. She dug in it past her glasses case, and pack of gum before locating her business card holder. She pulled one out of it, and handed it to him. “If you vant to take your career to the next level call the number on the card at 2pm tomorrow, k?” 

Not waiting for him to answer her back, Nastasia turned away and began to walk towards the door. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob, and looked over her shoulder. “Antasma ve’re leaving!” She called for her brother, and he quickly gathered both of their drinks before heading over to join her. Once Antasma was close enough she turned her attention back towards Blumiere. “I hope to be hearing from you.” She smiled, before leaving the building with Antasma following close behind.

* * *

The next day Nastasia was in her shared apartment with Antasma, sitting down at the keyboard she owned. She didn’t consider herself to be much of a musician, but she did like to dabble in it as a hobby every so often. It helped calm her in ways nothing else was able to. Resting on the attached stand, right in front of her various pieces of sheet music was her phone, shining the current time right at her as she waited.

Admittedly, she didn’t know what to expect from this Blumiere person. Normally she could take one look at someone and know if they were serious about what they were doing or not, but with him… It seemed as though he had one goal in mind, but it didn’t seem like fame was one of them. But despite the uncertainty, Nastasia already had an idea on what to do with his act. She just hoped that if he did call her, that he’d be willing to go along with the plan. He was very talented in the voice area, but when it came to his playing, well… She feared it wouldn’t make it far on his own.

With a sigh, Nastasia shook herself out of her thoughts. She had to get better about coming up with ideas and plans for something that might not happen. Just as she was about to go do something else to distract herself from the call that most likely wasn’t going to happen by that time, she heard the familiar sound of her ringtone. She reached for the phone, finding an unfamiliar number calling her when it was 1:59pm. Humming to herself, Nastasia answered it putting the phone up to her ear.

“Hello, this is Nastasia Dracul.”

“Hello, uh, Nastasia. This is Blumiere Bleck, we met at Starbeans yesterday.”

“Yes, Blumiere.” Nastasia nodded, pulling herself away from the keyboard to walk over to where she kept her planner. “Does this mean you’re villing to accept me as your manager?” 

The was a long pause, with slight shuffling from the other end. She suspected that Blumiere had answered her by nodding, as he suddenly stuttered, “Uh, I mean, yes. Would you be willing to meet me somewhere to discuss the details?”

Nastasia flipped through her planner, before finding an empty spot, “K, so I’m vree on Thursday at 7pm. How about ve meet at The Overthere at that time?”

“That works for me,” Blumiere answered, “So I’ll see you then?”

“Yes.” Nastasia confirmed as she scrawled in the information, “Make sure to come on time, tardiness does not reflect vell.”

“I will, Goodbye Nastasia.”

“Yeah, bye.” Nastasia ended the call, setting down her phone as she smiled down at the planner. That left one last call for her to make, a bit unprecedented as she had not scheduled such a call beforehand, but she figured it would be fine to make an exception. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the person she was looking for and pressed the call button. It only took a few rings before the call was answered. 

“Yeah, Callan? I might have some vork vor you.” 

* * *

[Last to Fall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgrfidE7ozg) by Starset

[Fanfic Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALY-NdKexs0&list=PLF9oc0zgvNHTTjPnkBONg9e4IOLZ4uX1J)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I just really love the idea of Nastasia and Antasma being siblings. You can’t tell me that the creators of Dream Team didn’t take Nastasia for inspiration when creating Antasma. There are far too many similarities for it to be a coincidence.
> 
> Admittidly I wasn’t originally planning on giving Nastasia an accent similar to his since she doesn’t have one in the game, but I caved because the idea of her talking in an accent is super cute. 
> 
> That being said, I’m not really great at writing out accents, which… Is definitely going to be a struggle considering who’s showing up next.  
> Also! If any of you have any songs that you think fit Mimi really well, please suggest some! I'm trying to put in songs that I think really fit the character in their introduction, but I just can't find one for Mimi.


	3. A Reason to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callan O'Chunks was once one of the most popular drummers of the era... Until his old band mate betrayed him and he lost everything.   
> But perhaps there's a way that he can regain what had been taken from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I did go back and edit chapter 1 as Nastasia's accent was a last minute decision in the last chapter that I forgot to put into the first chapter.   
> And this was actually my second attempt at this chapter, but I didn't like the first one so I rewrote it. I think this one turned out a lot better.

_ When the demon that’s inside you is ready to begin _

_ And it feels like it’s a battle that you will never win _

_ When you’re aching for a fire and begging for your sin _

_ When there’s nothing left inside _

_ There’s still a reason to fight _

Callan O’Chunks was once known as one of the most gifted drummers of the era, being gifted reward after reward for his performances ever since his band Brawn > Brains had first gained attention when he was only nineteen. 

He was quite the bulky man, especially when it came to his arms.At first sight to many, he could come across as intimidating. His eyes were a dark brown that were so dark they looked black, with a case of amblyopia. O’Chunks had no hair on the top of his head, though on his chin was a rather impressive looking brown beard. 

Unknown to him, his best friend since childhood, the man who he had formed the band with when they were in Middle School, was slowly becoming overcome by jealousy over all of the fame and attention that O'Chunks was receiving from both the fans and the media. Believing that he rightfully deserved that attention as the band’s lead guitarist/singer. (Especially considering that O'Chunks’s singing voice was something you never wanted to hear.) 

And it was because of this jealousy, that O'Chunks’s band mate arranged for an… accident. And one day, when he was driving to band rehearsal, the vehicle O'Chunks was driving was struck head on by another. Somehow, he had survived the crash, but was horribly wounded due to it. During the time O'Chunks was trying to recover, his “friend” officially kicked him out of the band. However, this decision ended up backfiring on his “friend” as without O'Chunks’s talent and fame the band quickly fell out of the spotlight.

As for O'Chunks, it took him years to fully recover from his accident, and during that time the world had all but forgotten about him. When he tried to return to the music world, he found it harder then he would have thought. But it was difficult to try and get accepted into a band, and he knew he would never be able to go far on his own. (His singing could be considered a form of torture in some countries.) He began to lose hope that he would ever be able to regain what he had stolen from him, that was until he came across Nastasia. She had offered to manage his music career, claiming that she would try and find him a new band to play in and O'Chunks had agreed. 

And that was what led to his current situation, sitting in a booth located in the back of the Overthere. Nursing a beer, while Nastasia sat across from him taking sips from her water and scrolling through her phone as they waited for some Blumiere guy. 

According to Nastasia he was an up and coming guitarist/singer, though he seemed to be wanting to go solo Nastasia was certain that she could convince him to change his mind and form a band. O'Chunks certainly hoped so, drumming was all he had. 

O’Chunks took a drink of his beer as Nastasia put her phone down. Readjusting her glasses as she looked out into the bar. 

“There he is.”

O’Chunks followed her gaze to see a young man walking over to their table, who looked exactly as Nastasia had described him. 

His amber eyes flickered between Nastasia and O’Chunks, an expression of confusion pulling on his features. 

“Blumiere, right on time.” Nastasia greeted, waving her hand in the direction of the seats across from her. “Have a seat.”

O’Chunks moved as close as he could to the wall, though his bulk certainly made fitting Blumiere in a bit tight. Luckily Blumiere was a small, scrawny thing so it wasn’t that tight. Once they were as comfortable as they could get, Nastasia folded her perfectly manicured fingers together as she observed them. The lights hitting her glasses in such a way that her eyes couldn’t be seen past the glare. 

“Blumiere, this is Callan O’Chunks, another client of mine.” She introduced.

“Yeh can just call meh, O’Chunks,” O’Chunks informed him, twisted slightly so he could offer Blumiere his hand. 

“Blumiere Bleck.” The man introduced with a polite nod.

“Now, Blumiere, you are probably vondering vhy I brought O’Chunks here, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Vell,” Nastasia turned to her side, pulling out a folder that she set on the table. “The reality of the music vorld is that vhile your voice is quite impressive, your playing is… vanting, k? Your voice can only get you so var… alone. O’Chunks is the best drummer that you could ask vor.”

“A band.” Blumiere interrupted, “You want us to form a band.”

“Essentially,” Nastasia sat back, and picked up her glass of water to take a sip. “The two of you have your strengths and veaknesses. O’Chunks is very talented vhen it comes to drumming, but his singing voice…” 

O’Chunks chuckled nervously when she gave him a pointed glance, taking another drink from his beer.

“And as for you, your singing voice is one of the best I’ve heard, but your guitar skills are veak. But pair your singing, vith O’Chunks’ playing, vell… I think you vould have vhat it takes to make it, k? And, being associated with an already known name like O’Chunks’ vill certainly gain people’s attention.” 

“Well, Nassy, if yeh think it’s a good idea, then I’m all fer it.” O’Chunks announced, slamming his beer down a bit too hard. He frowned slightly as some of his cup’s contents sloshed out onto the table. Whoops. “What do you say, lad?” 

He turned to face Blumiere who had a frown on his face, tracing the table’s wood details as he thought over Nastasia’s suggestion. 

“You don’t have to give me your answer right now.” Nastasia told him after he didn’t answer for a minute or so. “If you need to think it o-”

“No,” Blumiere shook his head, looking up from the table finally. He took a deep breath, “If you think this will get my name out there, then… I’ll do it.”

Nastasia smiled, opening the folder she had placed on the table. “Excellent,” She pulled out two stacks of papers that had been stapled together sliding them towards O’Chunks and Blumiere. “I vant you two to look over these contracts, and ve vill meet back, same place same time next veek. K?”

Once O’Chunks and Blumiere gave her confirmation Nastasia closed her folder and slid out of the booth. “Most bands typically have around vour members,” She stated, moving her folder under her arm, “If either of you know anyone else vith talent bring them to the next meeting, K?” 

O’Chunks lifted an arm in a slight wave despite the fact that Nastasia had already turned around and walked away from them. Awkwardly he lowered his arm, turning his attention back towards Blumiere who was frowning down at the papers. (Did he ever do anything  _ besides  _ frown?)

“Well, Blumiere,” O’Chunks said, gaining the man’s attention. He picked up his beer once more and took a drink before continuing, “Since we’re gonna be partners, why don’t we get to know each other o’ bit more?”

[ A Reason to ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2axiYQYJMUU)

[ Fanfic Playlist ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF9oc0zgvNHTTjPnkBONg9e4IOLZ4uX1J)


	4. Bubblegum B****

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mimi's life used to be perfect, and maybe it could be again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, despite Mimi being my favorite of the minions I did struggle quite a big writing this chapter. The one I was trying to write was so hard to write that I had to completely change how Mimi was recruited. Originally Mimi was supposed to be on the streets, and Blumiere would find her busking on them which would lead to him asking her to join the band. But that felt really weird, and I couldn’t make it work. So I had to start over.   
> Anyways, I would like to give a thank you to jalajalen for suggesting the song “Bubblegum Bitch” for Mimi. I was honestly really shocked by how well it fit Mimi’s character, so thank you for the suggestion!

_ I’ll chew you up and I’ll spit you out _

_ ‘Cause that’s what young love is all about _

_ So pull me closer and kiss me hard _

_ I’m gonna pop your bubblegum heart _

Mimi Kin’s life used to be the kind you would see in a teen movie. There was no denying the fact that she was pretty, her curly hair that she consistently dyed green was almost always held up in pigtails, her eyes so dark that they were nearly black. Her brown skin was always perfect, with a few freckles speckled across her cheeks. She was small and petite, always dressed in the prettiest designer dressed that money could buy. She was pretty, popular, and rich, Mimi’s life was one that her classmates had envied for a long time. Whatever she wanted her parents would get it for her, from the latest IPhone to the most expensive car that money could buy for her sixteenth birthday. She went through boys like they were going out of style, having a new boyfriend practically every week. Her life was one that others could only dream of having. Every boy wished she were his, and every girl wished they were her. It had been perfect… Until it wasn’t. 

When Mimi was sixteen, she realized that she was bi, and trusting in her parent’s claims of loving her no matter what she had told them. What she had thought would be a simple conversation turned into a full blown fight, that resulted in her parents kicking her out of her house. At first Mimi had tried to go to her friends for help, but once they had learned that Mimi had lost what she had once had they abandoned her. 

She began to lose hope, believing that she was going to have to spend the rest of her life on the streets. That was until one of her aunts came across her and took her in. But while her aunt was quite rich, owning a mansion in the city, her aunt also believed in working for what you had. So she had Mimi get a job in return for living with her. And to her reluctance, Mimi got a job as a barista at a Starbeans.

Despite having to have a job, living with her aunt wasn't the worst thing in the world. For one thing she was very supportive of Mimi’s identity, as well as her hobbies. One of which was playing the piano. Ever since she was little Mimi had been playing the piano, and it was something she was very invested in. She was very skilled in playing the instrument, having won many awards during contests. It was one of her favorite hobbies besides breaking hearts. Her aunt even bought her a keyboard that she brought to the cafe on her days off to play for the patrons. (With the manager’s permission, of course.) 

While things weren’t as perfect as they had once been, they were going and for now that was okay. 

* * *

Using her key, Mimi unlocked the door to Starbeans so she could enter, but making sure to lock it right back up once she was inside to keep any customers from walking in before they were ready. She had been running late that day, which unfortunately meant she couldn’t put on any makeup before she had to leave, which was unfortunate. Since she’s graduated, Mimi’s been hoping that she might attract the attention of some rich man that had come into Starbeans. She didn’t really know what she wanted to do for a living, so she figured trying to marry rich was a good idea. Unfortuntetly she hadn’t found anyone, and not having makeup was a sure fire way that she wouldn’t meet her soulmate that day. 

“Good morning, Professor!” Mimi called the shop’s manager, Elvin Gadd. Even though she had been working at Starbeans since she was sixteen, her three year anniversary was next month, Mimi still didn’t understand why a man with a doctorate was managing a Starbeans. She and her coworkers suspected he was using the cafe as a front for illegal experiments. He did look crazy enough for that type of thing. 

“Good morning Miss. Mimi,” Gadd greeted, looking up towards her briefly before returning his attention to whoever was under the sink. Walking around to go behind the counter, Mimi noticed a green hat on the floor next to whoever was under the sink. Recognizing it as belonging to Gadd’s friend, Louis? Leo? She could never remember what exactly his name was, only that Gadd called him in to help out whenever something went wrong with the cafe. A broken espresso machine, a clogged sink, or that one time he thought that the cafe was haunted. Mimi didn’t really know why Gadd brought the guy in instead of calling actual professionals, but he got the job done so she didn’t really care either way. It was probably just the Professor being cheap. 

Grabbing her apron, Mimi wrapped it around her waist as she began to prepare the machines for the day. Praying she wouldn’t have to deal with any Karens are cursed drinks that day. (Those prayers never worked.) 

“Alright Professor I think I’ve fixed it.” A soft voice with a strong Italian accent spoke, as Gadd’s friend Liam (?) pulled himself out from under the sink.

With the man’s confirmation, E. Gadd stood on the tips of his toes and turned the faucet on, the water running from it smoothly. “Wonderful work, Sonny!”

“Next time try to not blow-” Luke (?) glanced over towards Mimi, stuttering as he tried to catch himself, “Uh, I mean… Please stop calling me in the middle of the night because you clogged a sink.”

“Ha, we both know that won’t happen, Sonny.” E. Gadd proclaimed, patting Logan (?) on the back.

The man mumbled something under his breath, though Mimi wasn’t able to catch any of it. (She suspected that he was speaking Italian.) Shaking his head, the man grabbed his hat and the bag on the floor. “It was nice to see you again, Mimi.” He smiled at her.

“You too,” Mimi said awkwardly as she tried to remember what his name was. Still couldn’t get it. 

Gadd followed him out, chatting about something that sounded science-y so she decided to tune it out. The man unlocked the door and left, but much to Mimi’s annoyance E. Gadd didn’t lock it behind him. 

“I’ll be in the lab if you need me!” E. Gadd informed Mimi, before running off to do whatever it was that he did. (Mimi suspected that it was something highly illegal. 

Rolling her eyes, and giving the door a glare as if that could stop any patrons from coming in before she was ready Mimi began to prepare. While she was getting everything ready, her coworkers for the day; Toadette (a girl that was somehow shorter then Mimi with pink hair that was almost always in twin braids) and Daniel (a boy with spiky blonde hair, that somehow got away with always wearing sunglasses at work for some reason) had arrived to help.

And with the first customer walking in, it was time for the day to begin.

* * *

With a sigh of relief, Mimi leaned back as they finished off the rest of the rush. Happy that that was finally over and done with and she could breath for a moment. The rushes were always the worst part of working in the mornings, dealing with the soccer moms and office workers that floated to the cafe for their daily dose of caffeine. With a few cursed drinks sprinkled in there much to Mimi’s horror. 

Mimi closed her eyes to take a deep breath, when she heard the tinkling of the bell at the door. Her eyes snapped open, annoyance beginning to form before she noticed who it was and a smile pulled on her lips. 

While he wasn’t one of their regulars, Mimi always enjoyed it when Blumiere stopped by the cafe. Usually he was one of the musicians that played for the patrons but seeing as he didn’t have his guitar with him Mimi figured he was probably just getting a coffee. Mimi had to admit that she found him to be pretty cute, there was something about his permanent aura of sadness that was attractive. If only he wasn’t so old. Once he got his order in, and Daniel began to prepare it Blumiere walked over to the area where they put finished drinks. 

“Good morning, Blumiere!” Mimi smiled at him once he had walked over.

“Good morning, Mimi.” He greeted back, shifting awkwardly on his feet, his hands firmly shoved into his jacket pockets as he watched Daniel prepare his coffee. Once it was finished Daniel handed the coffee to Mimi, who in turn handed it to Blumiere. “There we go, thank you for choosing Starbeans!” Mimi told him, for once her smile as she said that wasn’t fake. (There was something about cute boys that just made this job so much better.) 

“Thank you,” Blumiere said, he took his hands from his pockets. Using one to grab the coffee. In his other hand he held some money for the tip, but he also held an envelope that he dropped into the jar of tips. Mimi’s brow furrowed from that, and after he left she grabbed the jar to look at the envelope, finding her name written on it.

“What’s that, Mimi?” Toadette asked upon noticing the envelope. Mimi shrugged and pulled it out, wondering if Blumiere had put in some extra money for her specifically. But upon opening it she found herself disappointed to see some lined paper. She tossed the envelope into the trash, and unfolded the piece of paper. Her eyes widening once she read the contents, a large smile blossoming on her lips. Trying to conceal her squeal, Mimi shoved the paper into the pocket on the front of her yellow and white polka dot dress. 

“Please don’t tell me that he was asking you on a date.” Toadette said, sounding a bit concerned.

Mimi shook her head, almost shaking in anticipation for her shift to end. If Blumiere was serious, then maybe she wouldn’t be needing that rich man she was looking for. 

* * *

Standing outside of the bar’s door, Mimi double checked the paper Blumiere had given her to make sure she was at the right place. Once she had confirmed it, Mimi shoved the paper into the pocket of her jacket, and pushed the door open. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark lighting as she stepped inside.

The Overthere wasn’t the most appealing of bars, but Mimi was only nineteen so she didn’t have many experiences with bars in the first place. Her dark eyes swept the place, finally landing on a table that was almost in the middle of the room. There were three people sitting at that table. A woman with bright pink hair, a rather bulky looking man, and Blumiere. Straightening her shoulders to try and make herself look more confident, Mimi walked over to that table.

“Hello!” 

The two strangers looked at her strangely, while Blumiere smiled warmly at her. 

“Mimi,” He greeted, “I’m glad you came.” 

“Of course I came!” Mimi said, seating herself next to him. “So you’re forming a band?”

“Yeh play?” The bulky man asked as he took a handful of fries off of his plate and shoved them in his mouth. Mimi wrinkled her nose at the sight, before she nodded.

“Yeah, I play the piano!”

“She’s very talented at it,” Blumiere informed the other two, “I’ve seen her perform at Starbeans a couple of times.”

“Yup! I’ve won a few contests as well,” Mimi informed them, before she reached over the table to steal a fri from the bulky man. Ignoring his shout of “Hey!” as she stuck it in her mouth. 

“I see,” The pink haired woman said, opening a folder that she had brought with her. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” Mimi answered, watching as the woman pulled some papers from the folder. She slid them across the table towards Mimi, who drew them towards her. Briefly glancing at them, Mimi noticed that what she had been given was a contract. 

“Umm, since your here, I vigured you’re interested, yes?”

“Yup!” Mimi said, flipping through some pages though she didn’t read them. She was probably just going to give the contract to her aunt to look through. “Being a musician sounds better then working at Starbeans my whole life.” 

“ I vant you to look through that contract, and bring it to the virst practice signed. K?”

“Mmmhmm.” Mimi hummed, pushing it aside after she had flipped all the way through. “So what do you all call yourselves anyway?”

“Well, we don have ah name yet.” Bulky answered, and much to Mimi’s amusement she noticed that he had wrapped one of his large arms around his plate to protect it. 

“Well…” Mimi’s eyes drifted over towards Blumiere, an idea forming in her head. “Blumiere’s guitar has a really cute heart on it! Maybe the name could have something to do with hearts!” 

“Hmm…” The woman tapped her perfectly manicured fingers on the table thoughtfully. “That’s an idea… I vant you all to think it over before the next practice.” The woman decided, she turned and dug through her purse that was hanging over her chair. Producing a small notebook and a pen. She scribbled something in her notebook and then ripped it out. Sliding it over the table towards Mimi. “This is the time ve already discussed since you came late. I hope that von’t be a recurring theme, k?” 

The woman closed her folder and stood, “I have somewhere I need to be, please inform Mimi of vhat she should know, k?” 

The two men nodded, and they all watched in silence as the woman left. Once she was gone, Mimi placed her elbows on the table and held her chin on the top of her folded hands “So… What's up?”

* * *

[Bubblegum Bitch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1eQLw0Nwto)

[Fanfic Soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF9oc0zgvNHTTjPnkBONg9e4IOLZ4uX1J)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t work at a coffee shop so my apologies if I wasn’t accurate with how it works.   
> Okay, so the thing about E. Gadd unlocking the doors to Starbeans before everything was ready? Yeah. My boss does that and it's so annoying! Like one time he had the door unlocked BEFORE I WAS EVEN THERE. Keep in mind, I was the only person scheduled that day. Ugh.   
> Also, Mimi’s backstory was inspired by Taylor’s from Animorphs. The line of “There wasn’t a boy that didn’t wish she were his, and a girl that didn’t wish she were her.” That was based off a line from the first book Taylor was in. For those that don’t know, in the book Taylor was one of the most popular and beautiful girls in school until she was caught in a house fire that burned her face and body.


End file.
